ORF contribution under fire: Constitutional Court checks the legal question!

ORF contribution under fire: Constitutional Court checks the legal question!

Österreich - The dispute over the ORF contribution increases in sharpness! The Constitutional Court (VfGH) is faced with a significant examination of the ORF contribution law, which brings the public service broadcaster around 700 million euros annually. According to reports of 5 minutes, numerous complaints were submitted in which a lawsuit is made that the law violates the constitutional rights to equality and property. The essential core of the symptoms is that the obligation to contribute does not take into account whether the citizens actually use the ORF offers or are able to do so.

The criticism is particularly explosive that the legal regulation between the different types of reception - sei distinguishes it via cable, satellite or internet. This means that in particular people in rural areas, where the technical infrastructure is often poor, are disproportionately stressed. Furthermore, the determination of the amount of the contribution for the years 2024 to 2026, which was determined by law instead of decided by the ORF Foundation Council, as can be seen from the VFGH document, which also raises further critical points for checking.

Legal dispute over ORF financing

The current legal disputes are not without history. As early as 2022, the VfGH declared the GIS fee at the time to be unconstitutional, since the obligation to contribute was linked to the possession of reception devices. This time, the highest court could clarify decisive questions about the constitutional basics after all ongoing proceedings before the Federal Administrative Court were suspended until the decision was announced, as reported by 5 minutes. The upcoming judgments could have massive effects on the ORF financing system and its legal basis, which is a critical point for many in the discussion about the future of ORF fees.